Rohilkhand

{{Dablink|This article is about the '''Rohilkhand'''. For other references of term, see [[History of Bareilly]], [[Bareilly|City of Bareilly]], [[Rampur, Uttar Pradesh|Town of Rampur]].}} {| class="toccolours" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; width: 250px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |- | colspan="2" style="margin-left: inherit; background:#FFC0CB; text-align:center; font-size: medium;" |Historical region of North India
'''Rohilkhand''' |- align="center" | colspan="2" | |- style="vertical-align: top;" | '''Location''' | [[Uttar Pradesh]] |- style="vertical-align: top;" | '''State established:''' | 1690 AC |- style="vertical-align: top;" | '''[[Language]]''' | [[Hindi]], [[Urdu]], [[English language|English]] |- style="vertical-align: top;" | '''[[Dynasty|Dynasties]]''' | [[Panchala]]s ([[Mahabharatha]] era)
[[Mughal Empire|Mughals]] (1526–1736)
[[Rohilla]]s (1736–1858) |- style="vertical-align: top;" | '''Historical [[Capital (political)|capitals]]''' | [[Bareilly]], [[Rampur, Uttar Pradesh|Rampur]] |- style="vertical-align: top;" | '''Separated sube''' | [[Bareilly]], [[Rampur, Uttar Pradesh|Rampur]], [[Rudrapur]], [[Champawat]], [[Pilibhit]], [[Khutar]], [[Shahjahanpur]] |- style="vertical-align: top;" |} [[Image:UP region map.gif|250px|thumb|Regions of [[Uttar Pradesh]]]] '''Rohilkhand''' ({{lang-hi|रुहेलखण्ड}}, {{lang-ur|{{Nastaliq|روہیل کھنڈ}}}}) is a region of northwestern [[Uttar Pradesh]] state of [[India]]. Rohilkhand lies on the upper [[Ganges]] alluvial plain and has an area of about 25,000 km²/10,000 square miles (in and around the [[Bareilly|City of Bareilly]]). It is bounded by the Ganges River on the south and the west by [[Uttarakhand]] and [[Nepal]] on the north, and by the [[Awadh]] region to the east.It include cities of [[Bareilly]], [[Moradabad]], [[Rampur]], [[Bijnore]], [[Pilibhit]], [[Shahjahanpur]] etc. The region is named for the [[Rohilla]] tribe, and was known as ''Madhyadesh'' in the [[Hindu]] epic ''[[Mahabharata]]''. ==History== The area was made famous by the previous settlement of [[Rohilla]]s, who were [[Pashtun people|Pathan]] highlanders of the [[Yusufzai]] tribe who were awarded the ''Katehr'' region in northern India by the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] emperor [[Aurangzeb]] Alamgir to suppress [[Rajput]] uprisings. Later it gained fame as Rohilkhand due to large settlements of Rohilla [[Pashtun people|Pathan]]s in the [[Bareilly|City of Bareilly]] and [[Rampur, Uttar Pradesh|Rampur]]. ''Roh'' means mountains and in [[Pashto]] ''Rohilla'' means ''mountaineer''. Rohillas were distinguished from local people by their fair complexion and lighter build, and by their separate language and culture. They used to speak [[Pashto]] among each other but gradually lost their language. Today, the Afghan proper refer to themselves as ''Ban-i-Afghan'' or ''Ban-i-Isrial'' to differentiate themselves from the Indian Pathan. Rohilkhand was invaded by the [[Marathas]] after [[Battle of Panipat (1761)|Panipat war]]. The first invasion of Maratha on Rohillakhand took place on 1751-1752, Nawab of Oudh paid Maratha for defeating Rohillas and Ransacking their country, Rohilla were defeated badly and their whole area was Ransacked by Maratha, Later the Maratha resold Rohillakhand to Zabita Khan, Rohilla can never forget this defeat and they supported Ahmad Shah Abdali in battle of Panipat against Maratha. Maratha defeated Rohilla in 1772 and overran whole of rohillakhand in 1772, after which Rohilla asked for Nawab Of Oudh help but Nawab himself knew that his forces are no match to Maratha, After plundering Rohillakhand Maratha proceed towards Oudh sensing the same fate as Rohilla, Nawab made frantic calls to British troops in Bengal, British company knew that Nawab of Oudh didn't possess any danger for British company whereas Maratha will try to invade Bengal and Bihar after overrunning Oudh, British company despatch 20,000 British troops on the order of then Viceroy of British India, British wanted to free Rohillakhand from Maratha and give it to Nawab, The two army face came to came in Ram Ghat but the sudden demise of then Peshwa and the civil war in Poona to choose the next Peshwa forced Maratha to retreat, Rohilla decided not to pay because there was no war between the two states, further British made Oudh a Buffer state in order to protect it from Maratha and from here on British troops start protecting Oudh. The subsidy of one British brigade to provide protection to Nawab and Oudh from Maratha was decided to be Rs 2,10,000. The Rohillas started guerilla warfare against the British occupation of Rohilkhand. The Rohillas were hunted down and slaughtered mercilessly by the British and were scattered in the countryside and settled in many small towns. Later, the British transferred Rohilkhand to [[British Raj|British empire]] in 1774. In 1737, the country round [[Farrukhabad]] was in the hands of an Afghan [[jagirdar]], Kaiam Khan Bangash. The province, known now as Rohilkhand and then as Kutt[[ahir]], was in the occupation of a band of Afghan mercenary soldiers known as Rohels or Rohillas, from "Roh", the Pushtu or Afghan word for mountain. About 1673 two brothers, [[Shah Alam]] and Hussein Khan, left their native hills and obtained some petty office under the [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]]. Shah Alam's grandson, Ali Mahomed, a man of resource and courage and quite devoid of scruple, was eventually appointed governor of Sirhind. Taking advantage of the invasion of [[Ahmad Shah Abdali]], he added in 1748 to the lands already acquired by him those formerly owned by officers absent on field service. In this way he acquired the whole of Kutt[[ahir]] and changed its name to Rohilkhand. ==Rulers of Rohilkhand== Rohilkhand was under the rule of Rohillas with their capital in [[Bareilly|City of Bareilly]] until the [[Rohilla War]] of 1774-75. The Rohillas were defeated and driven from their former capital of [[Bareilly]] by the Nawab of Oudh with the assistance of the East India Company's troops. The state of [[Rampur, Uttar Pradesh|Rampur]] was then established under the Nawab of Oudh. *[[Nawab of Rampur|Nawabs of Rampur]] {| class="wikitable" ! colspan=2|Name ! Reign Began ! Reign Ended |- ! style="background-color: Blue" | 1 | [[Ali Mohammed Khan|Ali Muhammad Khan]] | [[1719]] | 15 September 1748 |- ! style="background-color: Blue" | 2 | [[Faizullah Khan]] | 15 September 1748 | 24 July 1793 |- ! style="background-color: Darkgreen" | 3 | [[Hafiz Rahmat Khan]] - ''Regent'' | 15 September 1748 | 23 April 1774 |- ! style="background-color: Blue" | 4 | [[Muhammad Ali Khan Bahadur]] | 24 July 1793 | 11 August 1793 |- ! style="background-color: Blue" | 5 | [[Ghulam Muhammad Khan Bahadur]] | 11 August 1793 | 24 October 1794 |- ! style="background-color: Blue" | 6 | [[Ahmad Ali Khan Bahadur]] | 24 October 1794 | 5 July 1840 |- ! style="background-color: Darkgreen" | 7 | Nasrullah Khan - ''Regent '' | 24 October 1794 | [[1811]] |- ! style="background-color: Blue" | 8 | [[Muhammad Said Khan Bahadur]] | 5 July 1840 | 1 April 1855 |- ! style="background-color: Blue" | 9 | [[Yusef Ali Khan Bahadur]] | 1 April 1855 | 21 April 1865 |- ! style="background-color: Blue" | 10 | [[Kalb Ali Khan Bahadur]] | 21 April 1865 | 23 March 1887 |- ! style="background-color: Blue" | 11 | [[Muhammad Mushtaq Ali Khan Bahadur]] | 23 March 1887 | 25 February 1889 |- ! style="background-color: Blue" | 12 | [[Hamid Ali Khan Bahadur]] | 25 February 1889 | 20 June 1930 |- ! style="background-color: Blue" | 13 | [[Muhammad Said Khan Bahadur]] | 5 July 1840 | 1 April 1855 |- ! style="background-color: Darkgreen" | 14 | ''Regent'' | 25 February 1889 | 4 April 1894 |- ! style="background-color: Blue" | 15 | [[Raza Ali Khan Bahadur]] | 20 June 1930 | 6 March 1966 |- ! style="background-color: Blue" | 16 | [[Murtaza Ali Khan Bahadur]] - Nawabat abolished in 1971 | 6 March 1966 | 8 February 1982 |- ! style="background-color: Blue" | 17 | [[Zulfikar Ali Khan Bahadur]] | 8 February 1982 | 5 April 1992 |- ! style="background-color: Blue" | 18 | [[Muhammad Kazim Ali Khan Bahadur]] | 5 April 1992 | Incumbent |- |} ==Further reading== * ''History of the Rohilla Afghans'', by Charles Hamilton, 1787. * ''Hastings and the Rohilla War'' by Sir J. Strachey, Oxford, 1892. ==External links== *[http://mjpru.ac.in/ M.J.P. Rohilkhand University, Bareilly] *[http://rohilkhanduniversity.org/ A Cyber Joint for Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University Alumni] *[http://www.fromoldbooks.org/Wood-NuttallEncyclopaedia/r/rohilkhand.html The Nuttall Encyclopædia: Rohilkhand] {{Historical regions of North India}} {{coord missing|Uttar Pradesh}}